


Under the Kotatsu

by sophie_sticated



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28607547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophie_sticated/pseuds/sophie_sticated
Summary: A memory comes back on that certain winter day.
Relationships: Amagi Rinne/Shiina Niki
Comments: 1
Kudos: 38





	Under the Kotatsu

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at titles and summaries sorry.
> 
> Secret Santa piece for @JannaDbunny on twitter! This was fun to write even if I was scared of writing new characters at first. Lol. I hope you enjoy this one and I hope you'll have a great year ahead of you!

"Heeeave, and ho! Phew! I think that's the last piece needed for thiiis thing!" Niki exclaims, settling himself down on the floor to rest for a bit. Carrying these huge pieces really took a toll on his body, and now he's hungry.

Rinne eyes the scattered parts of what seemed like furniture, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at it with such confusion and curiosity. "Is this a table?" he asks, his gaze then directing to the dining table not too far from where they sat. "You already got one, though?" 

Niki claps his hands. "Fufu~n! You're right, but not quite right!" He grabs the huge blanket, pulling it over his head. Ah, so warm~ "It's a kotatsu!" 

"Kotatsu? What's that?" 

"Well, it's a small table that's got heater underneath. Perfect for winter, you know?! Of course, nothing beats a perfect, steamy hotpot during cold days like these, but a kotatsu is a real-life saver and a must for every household!" 

A kotatsu sounds and looks fancy, Rinne concludes. He shortly wonders why Niki would want a hot pot though, but buries the question within his mind. "You got a kotatsu but you can't afford a hot pot?" 

"Hey! If you're just gonna keep on questioning just go and assemble this thing!" Niki pouts, rolling on the floor with the futon. "Ahhh~ I want a hotpot ♪ with crabs~ and meat~ and vegetables~ and fruits~ and the perfect sou~p! ♪" 

Oh, so a hotpot isn't exactly a hot _pot_. It's food. Of course it is. 

Rinne _almost_ does as he's told though, but not before Niki jolts up from his seat, putting the huge blanket over Rinne's head this time. 

"Hey—!" Rinne's complaints are drowned by the heavy blanket over him and the shuffling of heavy wood against the floor of Niki's house. He immediately pulls the blanket away from his head, seeing Niki assemble the kotatsu himself. 

"I think this should go...here…" Niki mumbles, trying to remember the way this thing is connected. "Ah, Rinne-kun. There's no need for you to move, you know? That thing earlier was just a joke~ I'll go assemble the kotatsu since you _clearly_ don't know how this thing works!" 

There goes Niki's grin again, which frankly makes Rinne irritated. "Don't wanna hear that from a brat like you." 

"And I don't want to hear complaints from someone who doesn't even know what a kotatsu is!" A hard knock on the wood snaps the pieces in place, making Niki hum in satisfaction. 

Rinne just stares at the laid out mini table in front of him. How is this different from the dinner table there except for being smaller? 

Niki reaches out his hand to Rinne's direction. 

"...?" Rinne tilts his head slightly. Niki isn't looking at his way as he is fixing something underneath, so he doesn't exactly know what he needs. 

Niki looks up from his previous task. "Rinne-kun?" 

_Plop._

"Eh? Eeeh…" Niki pouts slightly, looking at his hand which is now held gently by Rinne. "What is this?" 

"Thought you needed some warmth." 

"No, no, no. That's definitely not what you're thinking, is it?" He huffs, brushing off Rinne's hand from his own. "Come on, I need the blanket as one of the final touches." 

Oh. 

Rinne stands up and holds a couple of the blanket's edges, letting Niki grab the opposite ones. In Niki's cue, they spread out the blanket over the wooden table and then lift the final piece of wood that'll keep the fabric in place. 

Niki grins, tucking himself underneath the furniture and turning the switch on for the heater. Soon enough, he sighs in content, looking like he'll almost melt in the constraints of the kotatsu. 

Rinne follows suit, surprised at the heat that welcomed him as he puts his legs under the kotatsu. Oh. This was _really_ nice, especially with how cold it's been getting since winter settled in. 

"Ah! You know what's great with this? Tangerines!" Niki exclaims, but deflates as soon as he got excited. He just remembered that he's still short with food all this time. What a huge pinch he's in. 

Please, God, he's been a good person, isn't he? Can't he at least get some tangerines if he can't have hotpot? 

As if on cue, Rinne puts a bag over the table—small tangerines rolling out of it as he did so. 

Niki starts sniffing like a dog, his eyes opening wide into the sight of several tangerines on his kotatsu. 

"Eh? Huh??? Huuuuh?" Niki grabs one, inspecting it with vigor (and obvious hunger). "Huh?" 

"Extorted them the other day." Rinne mutters, opening one. Suddenly the room is wafted with the smell of citrus, making Niki's stomach growl quietly. "'Kay, open up." 

"Wha— You extorted _again_?! No, no, no. I definitely won't eat that if that's the case?!" 

"You're hungry, aren't you?" Rinne scoots closer to Niki, peeled tangerine in hand as he offers it in front of Niki's mouth. "And I promised I'll fulfill your wish, so this is just my duty." 

Niki glares, biting Rinne's arm instead. 

Rinne jolts, returning the harsh gaze back to Niki. "What the hell is your deal?!" 

"Stop it with the duty duty thing! How many times should I tell you that I was just hungry at that moment that I cannot think straight?! You're such a handful, really!" 

"Are you gonna eat it or not?" 

"Did you really extort these?" 

Rinne looks at him and answers without hesitation. "Yes." 

Niki gives Rinne an incredulous look, as if analyzing if the guy was lying _again_ or not. But his hunger always takes over his reason, so he bites on the tangerine. 

Rinne lets out a small smile at that, grabbing a tangerine for himself. 

"Did you…" Munch. "Really extort these?" Munch munch munch. 

"Yeah." 

"You are becoming a bad person in the city, Rinne-kun." Munch. 

"Who do you think caused that…" Rinne whispers to himself as he bites on the fruit. "Maybe next time I'll work for a hotpot…" 

"Mn? Did you say something?" Niki drawls out, wiping his eyes slightly. "Oh, yeah...Rinne-kun has been out some time in the past weeks...are you actually going around extorting some food?" 

"Maybe." Rinne grabs a pillow, putting it behind Niki. 

"If the neighbors start throwing stones at my house for your crimes, I won't let you go in the kotatsu again…" Niki almost immediately lies back to the pillow, humming in satisfaction as he feels the familiar softness on his back. It seems like he started softly singing a familiar idol song which Rinne recognizes as one of the songs that that certain first idol he ever witnessed performed. 

It's nice and comforting, he thinks. It's been a few months since he's been picked up by Niki, and the dreams about the brother he left behind are not that frequent anymore. Not that he doesn't mind seeing that in his dreams, but somehow it just reminds him of _that_ unanswered question. 

_What do I want to be as an adult?_

Sorry, Hiiro. For now, your idiot brother still doesn't know the answer to that. But maybe someday, he will. 

Rinne decides to lie down after finishing some more tangerines, facing Niki who's now sleeping so soundly on the floor. Maybe Niki can help him find the answer that he wants, or the answer that will satisfy him. 

But no one knows what the future holds, so he'll stay by the side of his subject and fulfill his duty as chief for now. 

These thoughts start to get blurry as he finally closes his eyes, succumbing to the warmth that _this_ kotatsu is giving him. 

\------

"O~i, ya dolts. How many times should we tell ya that sleeping under the kotatsu is bad?" 

"You're so noisy, Kohaku-chan!" Rinne grunts, rolling over to stay close to Niki. "Niki is sleeping, so ya shouldn't be disturbin' him, ya know? In fact, lemme sleep too! This Rinne-kun has been workin' so hard for us to not freeze in this harsh winter!" 

"Bringing out a kotatsu doesn't count as one, Amagi." HiMERU sighs, adjusting his leg as Rinne keeps hogging the space underneath. "Besides, you're the one who's being too noisy. Look, Shiina has already woken up." 

"Mnnnn? What are you guys talking abou—gya! Rinne-kun?! Why are you so close?!" Niki pushes him away, but Rinne doesn't easily relent. "Stooooop!" 

"What? Human warmth is the best warmth you can get, Niki-kyun!" Rinne lets out a guffaw, trapping a struggling Niki in his grasp. "Aren't ya honored that _I_ am the one to grant you that?" 

"You're insufferab—mmph?!!!?!!!?" 

"You should just eat, Niki!" Rinne grins after shoving an entire fruit into Niki's mouth. "You like tangerines, don't ya?" 

Niki's struggling gets replaced by munching sounds, which makes Rinne laugh. This person is really such a simple, yet very complicated guy. 

Seeing Niki eat happily under the kotatsu reminds him of the first time they did the same. They were only two and the kotatsu was spacious at that time, but now it feels cramped but _way_ warmer compared to that. 

Throwing a tangerine in the air and catching it as it lands, Rinne lets out a small smile. 

He's still fulfilling that wish, until now.


End file.
